The latest from UK pharma, including teething troubles and industry pushback for the country’s new life sciences strategy; Sanofi snapping up UK vaccines outfit Vicebio for USD 1.6 billion; and why AstraZeneca’s latest US manufacturing investment does little to ease fears that the British firm might choose to relocate across the pond.
The UK needs to pick up the pace on life sciences (FT)
The UK’s Life Sciences Sector Plan may be bold — but it’s destined to disappoint unless we pick up the pace. It sets out 33 government-backed actions to ensure the UK becomes Europe’s leading life sciences economy by the end of this decade, and the third largest globally (behind the US and China) by 2035. We’re a very long way off. To have any chance of realising this goal, we must embrace innovation rather than focus relentlessly on low drug costs.
Life sciences plan delayed over pricing battle with pharma industry (FT)
Ministers remain locked in talks with sector over future of clawback tax
A battle between ministers and the pharmaceutical industry over drug prices has forced the UK government to delay publication of its long-awaited plan for the life sciences.
The release of the “life sciences review”, initially scheduled for the start of this week, was delayed in large part because both sides had been unable to reach an agreement over a contentious review of drug pricing, according to three people familiar with the matter.
UK life sciences plan falls short, says ABPI (ABPI)
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) is warning that the core ambition of the government’s new life sciences strategy will not be realised unless it makes a real commitment to invest more in new medicines.
Sanofi to buy UK vaccines developer Vicebio for $1.6bn (PharmaPhorum)
Sanofi has moved to bolster its vaccines business by reaching a deal to buy London, UK-based biotech Vicebio, which was formed to produce improved, more potent shots that are simpler to manufacture.
French group Sanofi is paying $1.15 billion upfront to take control of Vicebio, with another $450 million on offer if Vicebio’s pipeline meets development and regulatory milestones. Its lead asset is VXB-241, a bivalent vaccine currently in phase I trials for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV), two viruses known to cause respiratory disease in people with weaker immune systems, such as the elderly.
UK drugs agency outsources 40% of applications after Brexit turbulence (FT)
New MHRA chief seeks to shift organisation’s resources to areas in which Britain has deep expertise
The UK’s drugs regulator is outsourcing almost 40 per cent of applications to trusted regulatory agencies overseas, as it tries to preserve its resources for luring companies to conduct more clinical trials in Britain.
The new chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) aims to focus the body, which has been slimmed down since Brexit, on areas of innovation where it can take a global lead, such as artificial intelligence in healthcare, and cell and gene therapies.
UK agrees deal with Vietnam to remove pharmaceutical trade barriers (Reuters)
Britain said it would strike an agreement with Vietnam to make it easier for pharmaceutical firms to sell UK-made medicines in the Southeast Asian nation, under a new trade strategy that emphasises quick, industry-specific deals.
Britain launched the new strategy last month, promising a nimbler approach compared to the emphasis it placed on full-fledged free trade agreements following its departure from the European Union.
AstraZeneca to invest $50bn in US by 2030 amid Trump tariff threats (The Guardian)
AstraZeneca has announced it will invest $50bn (£37bn) in the US by 2030, the latest in a string of pledges by pharmaceutical companies as the threat of Donald Trump’s tariffs looms over the industry.
The British drugmaker, which is headquartered in Cambridge, said its investment would fund a new drug manufacturing facility in Virginia and expand its research and development and cell therapy manufacturing in Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Indiana and Texas.
